Bill to lift Qantas ownership restrictions set for defeat in the Senate

ABC News

Changes to lift major restrictions on Qantas have passed the Lower House of Federal Parliament along party lines but are set for certain defeat in the Senate.

The Government introduced the Qantas Sale Amendment Bill this morning to remove limits on foreign ownership and stipulations that much of the airline facilities and staff be based in Australia.

Labor has opposed the measure, arguing it will lead to the national carrier splitting its domestic and international arms and shifting jobs offshore.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten used Question Time to link the airline's safety record with its local workforce.

"Does the Prime Minister accept that the enviable safety record of Qantas is in no small part due to the professionalism, the hard work, the commitment and the expertise of its Australian-based maintenance crews?" he asked.

Tony Abbott responded by accepting the "fine" safety record of Qantas, but accusing Mr Shorten of implying that other airlines are not safe.

"The Leader of the Opposition is trying to suggest that without the restrictions that exist under the Qantas Sale Act an airline can't be safe," Mr Abbott said.

"This is a most irresponsible suggestion, a most reckless and irresponsible suggestion."

During the exchange, the Labor MP for Melbourne Ports Michael Danby was thrown out of the chamber for refusing to withdraw a statement he described as being about "the safety of China Southern [Airlines] as opposed to Qantas".

Earlier in Parliament Mr Shorten referenced the TV show The Simpsons in his attack on the Government over Qantas jobs.

"These people opposite are the cheese-eating surrender monkeys of Australian jobs," he said.

Transport Minister Warren Truss insists if the laws are changed the airline will still be based in Australia but will be allowed to "grow".

"The purpose of the bill is to remove the regulatory handcuffs that apply to Qantas but to no other Australian-based airline, including in relation to accessing foreign based capital," he told Parliament.

It could be some time before the legislation is debated in the Senate, where it faces defeat even when the Greens lose the balance of power and new micro-party senators take their seats in July.

The Palmer United Party, which will hold balance of power seats in the Senate from July 1, is against the change.

However, party leader Clive Palmer, who holds the Lower House seat of Fairfax, was not in Parliament for the Qantas vote.

Opposition Transport spokesman Anthony Albanese told Parliament that Labor would fight to keep Qantas majority-Australian owned, but was willing to change the laws that stipulate a single entity can own only 25 per cent of the airline and limit foreign airline ownership to 35 per cent.

The Opposition had also been pushing for the Government to grant Qantas a debt guarantee, but that idea has been rejected by the Coalition.

"Good government is not about playing favourites or being a banker for major companies when times are tough," Mr Truss told Parliament.

"It's about providing the environment to see them succeed free of unnecessary government impediments. That's what this bill is about."

The airline's operations and financial position are also set to be examined by a Senate inquiry which has just been set up by the Greens and the Labor Party.

Qantas office staff 'given two weeks' to consider redundancies

Meanwhile the union representing Qantas office workers says about 1,500 staff have been given just two weeks to consider a redundancy.

Qantas announced last week that it will cut 5,000 jobs in the next three years after posting a $235 million half-year loss.

The Australian Services Union (ASU) has described the airline's attempt to shed the staff as rushed, unclear and chaotic.